The present invention relates to fishing lures and, in particular, to a multi-stranded elastomer skirt having an RTV adhesive based ink mixture and/or metal foil applied to one or more surfaces of the skirt and the method of manufacture thereof.
A dressing commonly mounted to fishing lures, such as jigs, "spinner baits" or "buzz baits", is a multi-stranded skirt. The skirts are typically fabricated from sheets of an elastomer material, such as natural rubber or silicone rubber. The cured rubber sheets typically exhibit a relatively rough surface. Each sheet is processed into a number of regions that define individual skirts and each skirt is defined by a multiplicity of slits or strands that are attached to solid borders that bound the ends of the strands. The skirts are cut from the sheets with the borders attached and the strands are contained by the borders, until the strands are collected and bound together.
Rubber bands and elastomer collars are frequently used to secure the strands together. After banding, the borders are cut from the strands and the skirt is ready to be mounted to a desired lure. Banded skirts are principally sold to lure manufacturers. Examples of banded skirts can be found at U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,640,041 and 5,251,395.
Examples of "rollup" skirts or skirts with elastomer collars are shown at U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,517,782 and 5,709,047. Rollup skirts are formed by rolling and bonding the border of a skirt to a tubular, elastomer core piece with an appropriate adhesive. Once bonded, the border is cutaway and the cut ends of the strands trail from the core piece. The core piece and wrapped skirt stretch when the skirt is mounted to a lure.
Banded and rollup skirts are also commonly sold in the after-market to fisher persons as replacement components and to permit a fisher person to doctor his or her lures to a specific presentation, commensurate with fishing conditions. Skirts can tear or discolor from exposure to ultraviolet light, contaminants in the water or tackle box, and age. Natural and latex rubber are also susceptible to heat.
Most lures that use skirts include a molded lead head. Spinner baits and buzz baits also include a formed wire that protrudes from the head or body and support one or more metal blades that spin and vibrate as the lure is retrieved. A fishing line is attached to the wire or an eye of a hook that protrudes from the head or body. As the lures are retrieved, the strands of the skirt undulate with movement of the lure through water to entice a prey species of fish to strike.
One or more finished skirts are normally attached to a fishing lure at the rubber band or collar. The skirts can have the same or different colors and/or surface treatments. The skirt color is normally determined by colorants and metal flakes or glitter that are added to the rubber mixture during pre-forming.
Finished skirts exhibit a rainbow of colors and color combinations. Skirt appearance can be enhanced by printing patterns onto the rubber sheeting. Conventional inks, however, are not compatible with silicone rubber. The ink either doesn't adhere or does so only with difficulty. U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,395 discloses a thermal setting adhesive ink for silicone rubber fishing skirts. The ink is prepared from a conformal coating that is mixed with a pigment. The mixture is not thinned with a solvent and sets only in the presence of a thermal catalyst.
Skirt appearance may also be enhanced by bonding a metal foil to selected regions of the skirt. Foil covered skirts however are difficult to produce. Natural and latex rubber will accept conventional heat bonded foils, but the rubber degrades from heat and sunlight. Silicone rubber, otherwise, does not readily accept conventional foils, since the foil tends to peel and lift off.
The silicone rubber skirts of the present invention were developed to exhibit durable printed ink and metal foil finishes. Specially mixed adhesive inks that cure upon exposure to humidity and at room temperature were developed. The inks and foils are applied over continuous areas or in defined patterns. The printed ink and foil regions are also aligned or self-registered to separately printed, dyed, foiled and/or textured surfaces.
Alternative ink and foil bonding methods were developed to obtain the durable silicone rubber skirts. The methods selectively 1) print a solvent thinned, RTV adhesive based ink mixture that sets in the presence of humidity to a silicone rubber substrate, 2) vulcanize a foil to the substrate and/or 3) selectively define regions having relatively smooth and rough surface textures at the substrate. The adhesive ink can be printed by itself to the silicone rubber substrate to define a desired appearance. The adhesive ink can also be used to selectively bond commercially available foils to the substrate. The foil may also be vulcanized to the substrate or pressure bonded to surfaces having textures (e.g. 4-50 micro finish) demonstrating preferential adhesion characteristics to the foil. Varieties of ornamental surface treatments are obtained using the foregoing steps alone or in combination.